reel to reel | Week of Oct. 27, 2011

50/50 Though it’s a cancer film, the tender and funny 50/50 addresses its subject with a refreshing lack of melodrama. Based on the true story of Will Reiser, a comedy writer, the movie follows Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who gets diagnosed with the C-word. Rated R. At Century and Colony Square. — Michael Phillips/TMS

Anonymous

In Elizabethan England, intrigue swirls around Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford, who in this film is the true author of Shakespeare’s oeuvre. Rated PG-13. At Century. — Los Angeles Times/ MCT

The Big Year

Three bird watchers engage in a fierce competition to spot the most specimens. Rated PG. At Century and Colony Square. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Blackthorn

It’s been said (but not substantiated) that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed in a standoff with the Bolivian military in 1908. In the Western Blackthorn, Cassidy (Sam Shepard) survived, and is quietly living out his years under the name James Blackthorn in a secluded Bolivian village. At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

Subtle, measured and chock full of major stars, this virus outbreak film exceeds without excess. A Minneapolis businesswoman (Gwyneth Paltrow) falls ill and dies soon after. Her husband (Matt Damon) reels as the resulting pandemic takes the world by storm. Rated PG-13. At Century and Twin Peaks. — Michael Phillips/TMS

Courageous

Dedicated law-enforcement officers vow to become better fathers and renew their faith after a tragedy in their community. Rated PG-13. At Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Dolphin Tale

This heartwarmer based on a true story follows the tailless dolphin Winter (played by Winter) through all sorts of adversity alongside its human protectors. Rated PG. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Michael Phillips/TMS

Drive

A stunt driver who moonlights as a wheelman for robberies must use his skills behind the wheel to protect the woman he loves. Rated R. At Century. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

The Exorcist

William Friedkin’s masterpiece of horror, based on William Peter Blatty’s bestseller, forever raised the bar on horror. At International Film Series. — IFS

Finding Joe

Through interviews with visionaries from a variety of fields, interwoven with enactments of classic tales by a sweet and motley group of kids, the film navigates the stages of what Joseph Campbell dubbed The Hero’s Journey. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

Footloose

This remake of this ’80s classic misses a few steps, most notably when it comes to the dancing. While director Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow) adds weight, the leads simply don’t pop onscreen. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

The Guard

An unorthodox Irish policeman with a confrontational personality is teamed up with an uptight FBI agent to investigate an international drug-smuggling ring. At Boedecker and Esquire. — Boedecker Theater

Gun Hill Road

After three years in prison, Enrique (Esai Morales) returns home to the Bronx to find the world he knew has changed. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

The Hedgehog

The Hedgehog is the story of Paloma (Garance Le Guillermic), a young girl bent on ending it all on her upcoming 12th birthday. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

The Help

Viola Davis, Emma Stone and Octavia Spencer star in this adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s novel as women in 1960s Mississippi who form an unlikely bond that shatters societal mores of the era. Rated PG-13. At Century and Colony Square. — Rene Rodriguez

House

A psychedelic ghost tale? A stream-of-consciousness bedtime story? An episode of Scooby Doo as directed by Dario Argento? Any of the above will do for this hallucinatory head trip. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

The Ides of March

In the hectic days before a tight Ohio presidential primary, an up-and-coming campaign press secretary becomes embroiled in a political scandal that threatens his candidate’s shot at the presidency. Rated R. At Century and Colony Square. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

In Time

In a future where time is the universal currency and the wealthy live forever, a poor young man stumbles into a fortune but is falsely accused of murder and tries to bring down the system. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Johnny English Reborn

Atkinson returns as the bumbling British secret agent introduced in 2003’s Johnny English. Rated PG. At Century and Twin Peaks. — Rene Rodriguez/MCT

Killer Elite

An ex-special-ops agent is lured out of retirement to rescue his mentor, which will require him to take on a group of assassins. Rated R. At Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

The Last Lions

From the lush wetlands of Botswana’s Okavango Delta comes the suspense-filled tale of a determined lioness ready to try anything — and willing to risk everything ­— to keep her family alive. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

Late Spring

One of the most powerful of Yasujiro Ozu’s family portraits, Late Spring tells the story of a widowed father who feels compelled to marry off his beloved only daughter in this poignant tale of love and loss in postwar Japan. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

The Lion King

A 3-D version of the classic animated film about a young lion cub who must overcome his devious uncle to lead their kingdom. Rated G. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Love Crime Within the sterile offices of a powerful multinational corporation, two women come to a faceoff in the mystery thriller Love Crime. At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

Machine Gun Preacher

The inspirational true story of Sam Childers, a former drug-dealing criminal who finds an unexpected calling as the savior of hundreds of kidnapped and orphaned children. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

The Man Who Fell to Earth

Space oddity David Bowie lands on late-20thcentury Earth from a drought-stricken planet, seeking water and help for what remains of his civilization. His highly advanced technology allows him to become a wealthy industrialist (a forerunner to certain Californian entrepreneurs), but American decadence — including television, booze, sex and stock issues — proves to have a much stronger gravitational pull. At International Film Series. — Landmark Theatres

Maximum Overdrive

What’s scarier than Emilio Estevez as the sole marquee name in a horror movie about computer-controlled items that become self-aware and come after us humans? Well, the fact that Stephen King stepped out of his day job of writing decent horror tales and said, “Well hell, I oughta direct this bad boy!” At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — IFS

Midnight in Paris

Midnight in Paris, a new romantic comedy from writer/director Woody Allen, tells the story of a family that travels to the picturesque French capital on business. Rated PG-13. At Mayan. — Boedecker Theater

Moneyball

Director Bennett Miller’s Moneyball is based on the true story of Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane, played remarkably by Brad Pitt. Somewhat of a renegade, Beane bucked the norm and employed a new statistical way of analyzing players. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Michael Phillips/TMS

The Names of Love

A young, extroverted liberal lives by the old hippie slogan “Make love, not war” to convert rightwing men to her left-wing political causes by sleeping with them. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

My Afternoons with Margueritte

In a small French town, Germain (Gérard Depardieu), a nearly illiterate man in his 50s, takes a walk to the park one day and happens to sit beside Margueritte (Gisèle Casadesus), a little old lady who is reading excerpts from her novel aloud. At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

Night of the Living Dead

George Romero’s 1968 film that forever changed the face of horror movies. Get two for one at the Boulder History Museum’s 1968 in America exhibit with your ticket. At International Film Series.

Opera: Thaïs

The monk Athanaël attempts to convert a beautiful courtesan, Thaïs, to Christianity, despite the many warnings of his friends. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

The Oregonian

In this blood-spattered thriller set in the Pacific Northwest, Lindsay Pulsipher plays a strange young woman who goes on the road to leave her past behind. At International Film Series and Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow

The film bears witness to German artist Anselm Kiefer’s alchemical creative processes at his hillstudio estate in the south of France. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece of the macabre stars Anthony Perkins as the troubled Norman Bates, whose “old dark house” and adjoining motel are not the place to spend a quiet evening. At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

Puss in Boots

The eponymous swashbuckling cat embarks on adventures with Humpty Dumpty in this spinoff prequel to the Shrek series of animated films. Rated PG. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Real Steel

The year is 2020. Human boxing is no longer; robot boxing rules. Charlie (Hugh Jackman) reconnects with preteen son Max (Dakota Goyo) at a low point in his career. The two prepare their junkyard robot for battle against a Russian-owned force of destruction. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Michael Phillips/TMS

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

The longest-running midnight movie of all time stars Tim Curry as the kinky yet endearing “transsexual from Transylvania.” At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

The Rum Diary

An itinerant journalist leaves New York to write for a local newspaper in Puerto Rico, where he drinks heavily and gets mixed up with a beautiful woman and her fiancée, a shady businessman. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Senna

A documentary that spans Formula 1 driver Senna’s opening season in 1984 to his untimely death a decade later, Senna eschews many standard non-fiction filmmaking techniques in favor of a more cinematic approach. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Dark

A riveting portrait of the great writer whose stories became the basis of the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof. At Chez Artiste and Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Landmark Theatres

Special Treatment

High-class prostitute Alice, fed up with the seamy underbelly of French masculinity, crosses paths with a neurotic psychoanalyst facing a marriage crisis. The two quickly realize their professions share a thing or two. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Take Shelter

See full review Page 37. At Century and Mayan.

The Thing An alien creature frozen in ice is excavated in an isolated outpost on Antarctica, where it awakens and begins killing off researchers. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

The Three Musketeers

Matthew MacFadyen, Luke Evans and Ray Stevenson are the titular trio, made a quartet by the addition of the hot-headed D’Artagnan (Logan Lerman) and facing off against baddies played by Christoph Waltz and Orlando Bloom. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Rene Rodriguez/MCT

Toast

Based on the hilarious and touching memoir of food writer Nigel Slater’s childhood, this is a delicious love letter to the tastes and smells that turned a young boy into a lifelong foodie. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil

Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil is a hilariously gory, goodspirited horror comedy, doing for killer rednecks what Shaun of the Dead did for zombies. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

The Way An American doctor travels to France to collect the remains of his adult son, who died while making a pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago, and then takes up the journey himself. Rated PG-13. At Century. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Weekend

Weekend follows Russell, who, after randomly picking up artist Glen at a nightclub on a Friday night, unexpectedly spends most of the next 48 hours with him in bedrooms and bars, telling stories and having sex. At Denver FilmCenter/ Colfax. — Denver Film Society

The Women on the 6th Floor

A breezy, ’60s-set tale of an uptight, unhappily married Paris stockbroker who rediscovers his joie de vivre after he gets to know the raucous Spanish maids who live upstairs. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater